Ismael Barroso vs Ohara Davies Preview January 6th, 2024
The Interim WBA Super Lightweight Title is on the line in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday, January 6th as southpaw Ismael Barroso of Venezuela tangles with Ohara Davies of London, England. The 12-rounder can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Barroso was last in the ring in May when he was the victim of a premature stoppage in the ninth round against Rolando Romero in a shot at the vacant WBA Super Lightweight Belt. Davies last saw action in March when he stopped Lewis Ritson with a body shot in the ninth round.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Barroso vs Davies Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ismael Barroso +350
- Ohara Davies -500
My Pick
Barroso is a 40-year-old veteran who climbs through the ropes with a record of 24-4-2 with 22 Ko’s. He fights out of Miami, Florida and is a power puncher who has recorded 91.7 per cent of his wins by stoppage including three of his past four. He’s boxed just 125 rounds since turning pro in 2005 as 22 of his 24 wins and three of his four defeats have come by way of stoppage. He stands just over 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 69-inch reach.
Since turning pro he’s won the vacant WBA Fedebol, WBA Interim Lightweight Titles as well as the and WBA Gold Super Lightweight Titles. He also fought for the WBA Lightweight Crown in 2016 but was stopped by Anthony Crolla in the seventh round in England. His other defeats came at the hands of Isa Chaniev by 12-round unanimous decision in May, 2018 and by ninth-round stoppage by Batyr Akhemdov in his next contest three months later. Since then, he won four fights in a row before being halted by Romero earlier this year.
Barroso drew his pro debut against Carlos Cardenas over four rounds and also drew his sixth pro fight when he went four even rounds with Wilson Silva in 2010. Barroso didn’t fight again for almost three years after making his debut. His biggest wins have been over Kevin Mitchell, Wiston Campos, Issouf Kinda, Fidel Maldonado Jr and Yves Ulysse Jr. Barroso but he’s lost four of his last nine fights.
The 31-year-old Davies makes the ring walk with a mark of 25-2 with 18 Ko’s and has 143 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2014. He measures 5-feet-7-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up 1.5-inches in height to Barroso. As far as power is concerned, Davies has enough of it in his arsenal as 72 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, including his last two and four of his last six.
Davies first career defeat came at the hands of Josh Taylor by seventh-round TKO in 2017 in a shot at the Commonwealth, and WBC Silver Super Lightweight Titles. He had won the WBC Belt two fights earlier via a 12-round unanimous nod over Andrea Scarpa and defended it against Derry Mathews with a third-round TKO. Davies was also beaten by Jack Catteral via a 12-round unanimous decision in 2018 in an attempt at the WBO Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Crown.
Since turning pro Davies has captured the WBC International Super Lightweight Title by stopping Paul Kamanga in the second round in 2018 as well as the vacant British Lightweight Belt in 2016 by halting Andy Keates in the fourth round. He also has wins over the likes of Chris Truman, Prince Ofotsu, Zoltan Szabo, Tom Farrell, Miguel Vazquez, Tyrone McKenna and Jeff Ofori.
Prediction…
Davies and Barroso both carry plenty of power and have both been stopped before. Therefore, this fight has the potential of changing with just one punch. Still, Barroso is just over 40 years old now and is in the twilight of his career. Davies can’t afford to take him lightly though or he’ll come out on the short end of the stick. Barroso has far more experience against upper-level opponents while Davies has struggled slightly when taking a step up in class with losses to Jack Caterall and Josh Taylor. This is a close call but considering their ages and recent performances I’ll lean towards the younger Davies.
I think power and chins will be the deciding factor.
Play: Davies -500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Ismael Barroso betting • Ohara Davies betting